Takeoff (1994-2022) was an American rapper who is known to have made many rap albums along with his group Migos. Takeoff was murdered on 1 November 2022 in Houston, Texas, United States of America, which was widely covered by the media.
Wiki/Biography
Kirshnik Khari Ball aka Takeoff was born on Saturday, 18 June 1994 (age 28 years; at the time of death) in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Atlanta, United States of America. He studied till 10th standard at Berkmar High School.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 65 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
His mother, Edna Mae Burnside Marshall, is not his biological mother; however, she raised him, and his cousin brother Quavo, a rapper in Migos, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
A photo of his cousin Quavo and mother Edna
Career
Takeoff’s career as a rapper began when he and Quavo founded Polo Club, a rap group, when they both were in high school, completing their school studies. Initially, both would write raps and perform them in and around their locality in Georgia. Later, Takeoff and Quavo included Offset in their group after which they changed the name of the group from Polo Club to Migos. The Migos got a major break in the American rapping industry in 2011 when the trio released their first rap, Juug Season, all over America.
A poster of Migos’ 2011 rap album Juug Season
Following the release of Juug Season, Migos began performing at various shows in Atlanta. The trio released a rap titled No Label in June 2012 and reportedly, the album was liked nationally by their fans. In 2013, the trio were approached and signed up by the founders of a label named Quality Control, Kevin Lee and Pierre Thomas, with whom the Migos made several rap albums. According to several sources, Migos’ 2013 rap album titled Versace was one of the best raps created in the US. The rap was made in collaboration with the well-known Canadian rapper Drake and became the first rap made by Migos to be ranked at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 31 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
A poster of Migos’ rap album Versace, which was released in 2013
The trio made and released another 2015 rap album titled Yung Rich Nation featuring famous American hip-hop stars like Chris Brown and Young Thug. The rap was featured on the US 200 Billboard chart at number 17.
A poster of Migos’ rap album Yung Rich Nation
In 2016, Migos released another rap album titled Bad and Boujee, which featured the American rapper Lil Uzi Vert; however, Takeoff was neither seen in the rap video nor credited for writing the lyrics and when he was asked about his “disappearance” from the rap video during the 2017 BET Awards by the hosts of the show, he replied “Do it look like I’m left off Bad and Boujee?” The trio released another rap album titled Culture in 2017, which not only topped the US Billboard 200 chart but also received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to several sources, more than 44,000 copies of the album were sold in the first week of its release, and in 2018, the album was nominated twice for the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
A poster of Culture, Migos’ 2017 rap album
Takeoff, Quavo, and Offset released MotorSports, a 2017 rap, featuring two famous American singers named Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. In 2018, the trio released Culture II, which is the second part of their 2017 rap album titled Culture. Culture II not only got ranked at the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart within a week of its release but also managed to sell more than 38,000 copies in the US in one week. In 2018. Takeoff released two solo rap albums titled Last Memory and The Last Rocket following which Migos collaborated with Drake and produced a rap album titled Walk It Talk It. In 2021, the trio released the third part of their famous 2017 rap album Culture, which was the last album that the trio produced and released together. Many sources, in October 2022, reported that Takeoff, Quavo, and Offset were considering disbanding the rap group to pursue a career in rap separately as Offset, who is the husband of the famous American hip-hop artist Cardi B, was in an extramarital affair with Quavo’s girlfriend Saweetie. During an interview, while talking about it, Quavo said,
We stand on real deal loyalty, and sometimes that… ain’t displayed. This ain’t got nothing to do with no label, no paperwork, no QC, nothing in any sense. This got something to do with the three brothers.”
Cardi B, however, refuted the claims and called the allegations against her husband baseless and full of lies. Talking about it on social media, Cardi B said,
No baby you lying ! You makin crazy lies starting sh** and putting female rappers in it WIT NO RECEIPTS, no blog ever spoke on this all of a sudden you come out of jail 5 days ago and you made up for lied in 2 hours wit NO RECEIPTS.”
The Migos, with Offset out of the group, made and released another rap titled album Only Built for Infinity Links in October 2022. The album was the last rap album that featured Takeoff in it.
A poster of Migos’ 2022 album titled Only Built for Infinity Links
Controversies
Taken into custody for illegally consuming contraband
In 2015, after Migos performed a show at Georgia Southern University’s spring concert, the Georgia police that were guarding the event arrested Takeoff, Quavo, Offset, and 12 other crew members of the Migos on the charges of smoking marijuana within the university’s premises. Reportedly, when the Migos arrived at Georgia Southern University, they smelled the smell of burnt marijuana coming from the Migos’ vanity vans, and upon questioning the crew members, the police found out that the trio were not only in the possession of marijuana but also illegal firearms within the university’s boundary walls. In 2015, the Bulloch County District Attorney’s Office granted bail to Takeoff, Quavo, and six other members while Offset and the remaining six crew members of the group were denied parole and remained under the custody of the law for quite some time. After their release from custody, Georgia Southern University issued a statement in which it refused to pay the rappers $33,000 as they had not fulfilled the terms of their contract with the university. According to the contract, Migos were to perform on stage for 45 minutes; however, they performed for less than 30 minutes and exited the concert. The university, after the intervention of a court, agreed to pay the group only half of the $33,000.
Behaving rudely with the crew of Delta Airlines
According to a statement from Delta Airlines, in 2017, Takeoff was removed from a flight after he misbehaved with the crew of Delta Airlines when the cabin crew asked Takeoff to pick up his luggage and place it in the overhead luggage cabin. The airlines said,
Delta flight 1532 from Atlanta to Des Moines returned to the gate, prior to departure, to deplane several customers seated in the First Class cabin who repeatedly refused to follow crew member instructions to buckle their seatbelts and stow carry-on items in the overhead bins.”
Allegations of sexual assault
In a complaint filed by Jane Doe against Takeoff at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in 2021, Doe accused Takeoff of physically and sexually assaulting her while they both were at a party at a common friend’s house. In the complaint, Doe’s lawyer said,
Notwithstanding Plaintiff’s express refusal, Defendant Takeoff grabbed Plaintiff, flipped her over face-down, and pulled down her clothing. Defendant Takeoff then proceeded to have forceful sexual intercourse with Plaintiff from behind, without Plaintiff’s consent.”
Takeoff responded to the allegations in 2021 by filing a counter-complaint against Jane Doe; however, the case was not registered against Takeoff at a court of law as the Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney could not find any conclusive evidence against Takeoff. Talking about it, Takeoff’s lawyers said,
We have reviewed the allegations and have similarly done our own due diligence. What has become abundantly clear is that the allegations made against Takeoff are patently and provably false. As his counsel, we are well aware and well versed on the importance of civil and criminal prosecution of true sexual assaults. This is not one of those situations.”
Car Collection
- Takeoff owned a Rolls Royce Wraith.
- Takeoff owned a Maserati Granturismo.
- He had an Austin Martin Vanquish.
A photo of Takeoff standing in front of his Aston Martin Vanquish
Death
On 1 November 2022, when Takeoff, along with Quavo, was attending a private party hosted by his friend in Houston, Texas, he entered into a heated argument with an unknown individual, who shot and killed him at around 2.34 AM. According to the Houston Police Department, the identity of the murderer has not been established. Troy Finner, the Chief of the Houston Police Department, said,
We have no reason to believe that he was involved in anything criminal at the time. Sometimes the hip-hop community gets a bad name. I am calling up on everybody — our hip-hop artists in Houston and around the nation — we have got to police ourselves. There are so many talented individuals, men and women, in that community, who again I love and I respect, and we all need to stand together and make sure no one tears down that industry.”
Facts/Trivia
- While giving an interview, Takeoff said that he and Quavo were one of the few rappers from Atlanta, who wanted to build a career in rap since childhood. He further said that like other kids, he was not interested in sports like football or basketball. He said,
I ain’t never been into sports. I was always into rap. So was Quavo. We always had each other’s back.”
- After the news of Takeoff’s death broke out on 1 November 2022, many Hollywood personalities like Marshmellow, Snoop Dogg, Lil Pump, Gucci Mane, Wiz Khalifa, Mike Tyson, and Drake expressed their grief on Twitter and offered their condolences to Takeoff’s friends and family.
- Takeoff had a tattoo of his mother’s name and a butterfly inked on one side of his forehead. He also had two tattoos on the other side of the forehead and cheek.
A collection of photos of Takeoff’s tattoos inked on his face
- Takeoff used to smoke, and he often posted photographs of himself smoking a cigar on various social media handles.
A photo of Takeoff taken while he was lighting a cigar